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The Eden Society The Eden Society was formed in the Sol system by radical environmentalists who wished to reintroduce extinct Terran plant and animal life to a new planet and allow it to grow without the pressure of human civilization. In 2761 a colony ship with activists and a huge bank of genetic samples set out with the intention of claiming one of the Groombridge 1618 worlds as the "New Eden". The colonists claimed the innermost planet and renamed it New Eden. There was already a small agricultural colony on the planet surface, which was absorbed within the Eden Society. The Society claims that this was done as a rescue mission for the colony, which was on the verge of collapse, but rumors persist that the integration occurred at gunpoint. Because of the dim solar spectrum of Groombridge 1618 and because New Eden is a tidally locked high-gravity world it proved impossible for Earth-adapted life to survive without alterations. This came in the form of genetic modifications. Today the population is divided into a small number of groups. The Rangers live as hunter-gatherers and coordinate the introduction of new species into the ecosystems of the planet. The Scientists live in Shangrila, the only permanent settlement on New Eden, where they work with the original genetic stores brought from Earth to develop new modifications that will permit creatures to survive on the planet. The Protectors are the militant branch of the Eden Society and their goal is to drive away anyone with intentions of development of New Eden for human colonization. The Protectors operate an orbital station and are suspected of backing terror attacks against organizations that call for development of New Eden. The Sisterhood One of the oldest colonies in Gloombridge is the colony on Hades’ moon Persephone, which was founded and is run by The Sisterhood. The Sisterhood is a religious order and, despite the name, has followers of both sexes. The name comes from the priestesses who rule the colony. The Sisterhood teaches a doctrine of peace and harmony and has many followers within the Gloombridge system. Initiation as a priestess is very selective and very secretive. The Sisterhood trades extensively where they are known as soft-spoken, but shrewd and honest dealers. They are sometimes hired to act as middlemen in contracts, provided the deal is above the board and legal. Although they trade extensively, they rarely allow visitors to their colony, even just to orbit and even more rare is to be permitted to land on their forested moon. Attacks on ships of The Sisterhood are rare and almost taboo. Among the criminal element there are those who say that their ships are protected by divine sources and anyone who harms them will suffer the wrath of god. Even those who dismiss this as nonsense avoid causing trouble to The Sisterhood for fear of being ostracized. The Terran Military With the establishment of a solar-system-wide government, there was no need for standing armies. Most anything could be handled by police forces. Even as the wormhole gates were established with the first-wave star systems, there was no open hostility. The local governments (and corporations) saw integration into the Terran Empire as a big benefit. That all changed in 3542 with the establishment of the Tau-Ceti wormhole gate. From the outset, the Cetians resisted integration into the Empire. They saw the deals given to other star systems and felt that the Terrans were taking advantage of the colonies. These tensions simmered for more than 30 years before it broke into open conflict. Without a dedicated military force, the war in Tau-Ceti quickly escalated and the Tau-Ceti system established de-facto independence. A plan was developed by the Terrans to build a dedicated navy, but construction of a fleet took many years. However, with the resources of the entire Terran Empire at their disposal, the Terrans were able to sweep back into the Tau-Ceti system and crush the organized opposition. Unable to face the Terran navy in direct combat, the Cetians turned to guerilla tactics and terrorist attacks. The conflict continued to simmer for decades when in 3612 Tau-Ceti agents were able to infiltrate the wormhole gate and destroy the facility. With the wormhole destroyed, Tau Ceti was cut off from the Terran Empire. Transmissions recived 12 years later (through normal space) indicate that the remaining Terran forces trapped in the Tau-Ceti system faced a massive bloody uprising and were quickly overwhelmed. Despite the end of the Tau-Ceti conflict, the Terran navy has argued for the continued existence of a standing army to deal with any potential troubles as wormhole gates are opened in the second-wave star systems. The wormhole gate to Groombridge 1618 is the first new wormhole opened since the Tau-Ceti war. The Terran Government wants to avoid a repeat of that conflict and has restricted the navy to duties guarding the gate and to patrols of the asteroid belt. The leaders of the Terran Military have argued that a swift suppression of piracy and rapid integration of the system into the Empire would prevent the opportunity for any resistance to organize and arm, but so far they have been overruled.